Stunning Valentia

Valencia
has an absolutely stunning and compact old town centre surrounded
by impressive buildings, charming squares, exquisite gardens and
quaint little streets. It is a pleasure to ramble idly around
soaking up the old-world atmosphere and ambience.

I
have recently returned from a 3 day visit to Valencia, one of Spain's
largest and most beautiful cities situated on the Mediterranean between
Barcelona and Alicante. It is a truly exquisite city and it is baffling
that it is not one of the more popular city break destinations. Its
wonderful eclectic mix of old and new blends perfectly and harmoniously
in this city full of spirit and character.

We stayed at the Hotel Sorollo, right in the centre of
old Valencia, just round the corner from its magnificent Town Hall and
the very ornate Train Station and Bullring. This hotel is very keenly
priced and you couldn’t have a better location for sightseeing,
shopping and eating out. Breakfast is extra (approximately €7.50
per head when we were there). Should you choose not to partake of your
early morning repast here, all you have to do is step out on to the
street and there are a variety of cafés, restaurants and tapas
bars where you can eat for probably a little less.

Valencia
has an absolutely stunning and compact old town centre surrounded by
impressive buildings, charming squares, exquisite gardens and quaint
little streets. It is a pleasure to ramble idly around soaking up the
old world atmosphere and ambience. The Bullring, right beside the Train
Station, resembles the Roman Coliseum and still stages regular and authentic
bullfights. I couldn’t quiet bring myself to attend, but maybe
for the less faint-hearted it could be an attraction. A must for me
was a visit to the Cathedral in Plaza de la Reine. This is the final
resting place of the much sought after Holy Grail or the chalice that
Our Lord and the Apostles drank from at the Last Supper. It resides
in a small glass case in the Capitulary Chapel in the Cathedral and
is venerated and visited by thousands each year.

The Plaza del Ajuntamiento is the largest and one of the most picturesque
squares in Valencia and is ideal to wander around or to sit for a while
and admire the very impressive Post Office and City Hall buildings and
its splendid fountain.

In
Valencia`s golden age it boasted one of the biggest Silk Markets in
the world at La Lonja and today Valencia is still a city of markets:
at Mercado Central a wonderful food market where you can buy authentic
Valencian produce, Plaza Redonda – the Sunday Market, El Rastro
– where you can buy anything from the totally useless to rare
finds, plus antique markets, and many more. All markets start around
9am and begin winding down around 2pm. We visited the Sunday market
which was bustling with life and colour – a cultural experience
not to be missed.

The
most spectacular sight in Valencia is the space-age futuristic City
of Arts and Science. Trust me, this breath taking feat of architecture
has to be seen to be believed. It comprises the Museum of Sciences –
a long building with 3 floors of interactive science material on topics
like electricity, lasers, physical laws, the human body, sport sciences,
sound, light, a planetarium and much more. The Marine Park incorporates
a section on every marine zone in the world, from the Arctic to the
Mediterranean. The IMAX Cinema is a 3D cinema where everyone lies on
the floor and watches the hemispheric screen above them. The Opera and
Concert Hall – the Palace of Arts has four auditoriums covering
everything from classical concerts to opera to theatre plays. Finally,
there is the Greenhouse – a long promenade with species of plants
from all over the world. This whole area will just blow your mind and
the visitor just cannot leave the city without seeing it.

As if all that wasn’t enough, Valencia is a unique city, having
its parks and gardens right at its very core. In 1957 the river Turia,
which ran through the centre of the city, was diverted due to flooding
and in its place were planted the most wonderful and exotic parks and
gardens, making a stroll through the city extremely pleasurably and
picturesque.

One of the most enjoyable features of Valencia for me was the marvelously
social tradition of street eating outside the numerous cafés,
restaurants and tapas bars. Each evening the Valencians spill out on
to the streets to eat, to drink and to converse with each other. The
Tapas or Snack Bars are all over the place – serving a myriad
of paellas and bocadillos which resemble bruscetta – but the roll
is just sliced – not toasted - with a huge variety of toppings,
such as cream cheeses, smoked salmon, rashers, ham, anchovies, olives,
prawns, squid, placed on top, and all can be surveyed behind little
glass shutters which you lift and fill your plate with whatever you
want. This can be done many times of an evening using a single plate,
settling the account at the end of it all.

The city totally come to life with all this street eating and the
Valencians are a lovely friendly people with a dialect all of their
own. One could never be lonely in Valencia.

There is so much to do, so much to see and so much to savour and enjoy.
Such as Aqua de Valencia – a mouth-watering blend of
Spanish Champagne, freshly squeezed oranges ( what else in Valencia?)
and some unknown ingredients – giving this drink a most refreshing
and 'could I have some more please' flavour. Ladies, it is also a splendid
city for shopping, with a very fashionable High Street and prices a
lot keener than Dublin.

I cannot recommend this city highly enough. So go on, treat yourselves
to a couple of days in this truly magnificent city of flowers, light
and love!

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